I'm very interested to hear the comments that the Contra is a fast turning kite. I recently tested one in Cairns at around 12 knots and found it to be very sluggish. Up to this point I was interested in buying one. The guy who owned the kite was also a bit disappointed with the turning speed. I currently own a xbow 12 to me the 17 did'nt appear to turn much faster than my 04 17 fuel. Would definately recommend a test fly before you buy on this one.

I'm very interested to hear the comments that the Contra is a fast turning kite. I recently tested one in Cairns at around 12 knots and found it to be very sluggish. Up to this point I was interested in buying one. The guy who owned the kite was also a bit disappointed with the turning speed. I currently own a xbow 12 to me the 17 did'nt appear to turn much faster than my 04 17 fuel. Would definately recommend a test fly before you buy on this one.

Wallyman, I think you're making a minor, but quite common missobservation. Even if the Contra 17 would turn like you're 17m fuel it would still be pretty good given the Contra 17 has the power of a 20-21m C-kite.

I've had a few guys here in Brazil fly my Crossbow 2 12m and they said it was just a bit fater than their 12m 06 C-kites. When I asked them to compare the speed to a 14-15m C-kite they said it was much faster. Then I asked them if they agreed that the CB2 12m had more power than their 12m C-kite and they all agreed.

That's what you need to keep in mind. You need to compare it to the EQUIVALENT C-kite...

Gotta say I think the 17 is somewhat overhypped,today in the following winds the Contra 17 could not stay up wind from 11am to 1 pm!!

If you're telling us that you could not stay upwind in conditions AVERAGING 10 knots, going up to 12-14 knots and GUSTING 15-17 knots on a 17m kite (no mater if Contra or not) I can only think of the following things:

1. The BOM reading was wrong
2. You were actually riding at Dolls and the BOM Airport reading is way up north and does get more wind
3. You were using too small a board
4. You are in the super heavy weight category
5. You don't know how to go up wind
6. You don't know how to fly a kite

Sorry mate, but if these conditions were accurate I'd take a challenge to beat you any time with a Contra 14 (I'm 87kg)!!!

I have to say that my experience with the 17m Contra are in line with Phillipp's observations. I took my contra out yestderday for the first time. The sensor showed winds to be about 8 to 10mph, which I beleived is aroud7 to 9 knots. I'm not sure what the windspeed on the water was but it was definitely light and not conditions I would normally be able to go out in. The wind seemed very light and gusty and there was an downwind current. No whitecaps at all. My fist observation is that the Contra seems to fly in very little wind. The launch area has a bit of a wind shadow and normally you have to wait for a gust and throw the kite up and quickly bring it overhead and over the water. The contra seemed to fly just fine in extremely low winds and did not luft or backstall. The other thing I noticed is that it seemed to absorb gusts real well and needed very little attention. You could let go of the bar and the kite would pretty much stay where you left it. What I was most impressed with was the relaunch. the kite relaunched very easily for being in such light wind. At one point I was able to get the kite up on its wingtip, but couldn't get it out of the water. I noticed that pumping the outside top line back and forth finally got it out of the water. I took a couple of tacks back and forth and was actually able to get up and going on my glide. I also weigh 248 pounds (112 kg).
The bar pressure was noticably higher than on my waroo and my forearms were sore afterwards. I'll definitely be keeping my waroo's in the smaller sizes. I like the fact tha they turn fast and the direct feel, but the contra will be my light wind kite. I've tried all sorts of large kites because of my size and the contra is a bit of a compromise for me, but I think it's the best thing out there right now for extremely light wind or bigger kiters.

PROS: Stays up in very light wind, absorbs gust very well, super easy to relaunch for such a big kite, generates a lot of power.

CONS: Slow turning, bar pressure, doesn't have that direct feel like the waroo.

Oh and one last thing. I never though much of the one pump idea and always thought it kind of gimmicky, but it is definitely nice to have on such a big kite. I am definitely a fan of the one pump now.

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve now had a chance to fly the Contra 17 in varying wind conditions.

Ã¢â‚¬Â¢ Turning Speed: Now weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re talking. This kite makes the Switchblade and Crossbow look like slow turtles. The new bridle attachment points have significantly improved the way this kite turns. I was even able to complete a full kite loop in around 8 knots.

Ã¢â‚¬Â¢ Bar Pressure: IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d say itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty much equal to the Contra 12 and 14. Similar to the pressure of the 12m Switchblade. Definitely lower than the Switchblade 16 and Crossbow with mod 16.P

So Is the 16 crossbow even with the mod still have heavy bar pressure?

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve now had a chance to fly the Contra 17 in varying wind conditions.

Ã¢â‚¬Â¢ Turning Speed: Now weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re talking. This kite makes the Switchblade and Crossbow look like slow turtles. The new bridle attachment points have significantly improved the way this kite turns. I was even able to complete a full kite loop in around 8 knots.

Ã¢â‚¬Â¢ Bar Pressure: IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d say itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s pretty much equal to the Contra 12 and 14. Similar to the pressure of the 12m Switchblade. Definitely lower than the Switchblade 16 and Crossbow with mod 16.P

So Is the 16 crossbow even with the mod still have heavy bar pressure?

ThanKs Phillipp,

love your stoke)*(

)*(,

I haven't flown the CB1 16 with the mod. So I can't really compare the bar pressure. I would assume they are similar.

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